His skills didn't drop off for years after the weight loss.His confidence and absorbing of punches never recovered from Tarver clipping him.
word. The RUIZ fight, in hindsight, was the last we saw of the real Roy. Losing that weight at that age destroyed him forever.
I disagree. It was clear as day, you could see it in his body and face. His energy level was way low.
In the first Tarver fight, yes. In the second, i thought he looked very good, almost like vintage Roy until he got caught. After that, his confidence was gone forever.
If you watched the documentary with Mackie Shilstone and Roy (the documentary Muzse sent me a copy of way back when "Between the Ropes" or some title like that), Roy looked like crap in his preparation for the Ruiz fight. David Izon, his sparring partner, was landing way much more on Roy than he usually did. Roy was looking sluggish and worn.
I don't see how you get that. They did nothing in the first round other than feel each other out and move a lot. In the second, Roy's winning the round possibly and then he ate that huge shot. Lights out.
Obviously that had an adverse effect but it doesn't pertain to the Gonzales fight. I know you weren't addressing that but it's not like he was a shadow of his former self against Julio as X suggests. There was no noticeable decline at that point.
There was no debate he was p4p fighter in every major publication. The roy never lost in his prime his made in hindsight.
Also not true (stupidly) When Roy fought Gonzales, most mainstream lists foolishly had Mosley at the top of their lists until he lost to Vernon.
Nah, Mosley was. And before Mosley, it was Trinidad until he lost to Bernard. Both ridiculous, as Roy was obviously the best fighter in the world until he lost the weight.
He wasn't quite as explosive at that point, but I agree. I wouldn't say Roy was past his prime when he fought Gonzales.
Yeah, so obvious no one brought it up until after the fact. Fact is Roy was a p4p fighter when he lost. TOP 3 TOP 5.
Steve might be right. I don't remember exactly. What is true is he was always listed in the p4p list until Tarver beat him. This obvious fade was so obvious not a single thread was created until after the fact.
When he lost he was back at #1 on most lists (don't think he was dropped after his poor showing in the first Tarver fight)
In their first fight he was sluggish and flatfooted, in the second he looked sharp and his footwork was back. He also looked healthy, not a drained, sickly man as he looked in the first fight. His loss was not because of his bad shape, he just got caught by a great counter punch.
I said he looked bad during the introductions of his first fight with Tarver and I remember both Donnybrook and I though he looked "sickly" and tentative from the opening moments
yup Before the rematch I figured he would improve on his first fight performance, I figured he would be back to normal When it came time for the intros I again noted the "sickly" quality of his appearance He looked no different
jones jr vs gonzalez was the fastest fighter ive seen live. and he was in slight decline at that point
Watching that fight is always a good reminder of how badly Ezzard Charles would have beaten the shit out of Roy at 160 or 175. :clapagain: Roy would have avoided The Sheriff Bob Foster at 175 too.
Gonzalez was what we call today a "Solid Pro"- he only lost to the very very best at their best, or when he was way past his own best. The DM win is a big win, and may have saved Americans from mass-suicide.
Oh, just a theory I have. It certainly boosted Reeds T-Cell count a bit. He perked up for a while, but had relapsed by August 2004. Dickie Ryan, he was another legend.
Why would Americans have any real emotional interest in a fight between a Mexican guy and a Polish guy?
